Jude
is an epistle dealing specifically with “apostasy” in the latter days and with
“judgment” that follows this apostasy. The present dispensation had its
beginning in the book of Acts with the Acts of the Apostles;and the
dispensation will end, as described in the epistle of Jude, with the
Acts of the Apostates.The book of Acts introduces the
beginning and progression of the history of the early Church (from the
inception of the Church [in 33 A.D.], during the time of the reoffer of the
kingdom to Israel [from 33 A.D. to about 62 A.D.]); and the epistle of Jude
reveals how this history will end (almost 2,000 years later, as the
dispensation draws to a close).

The exact positions that the
book of Acts and the epistle of Jude occupy in the canon of
Scripture are in perfect keeping with their respective contents. The book of
Acts immediately precedes twenty-one epistles directed to Christians,
providing a smooth, transitional flow from the gospels into the epistles; and
the epistle of Jude appears as the last of these twenty-one epistles,
introducing the book of Revelation by the great apostasy that
precedes the removal of the Church into the Lord’s Day at the end of the present
dispensation (Revelation.
1:10ff; cf. 1
Thessalonians 4:16-5:10).

Apostasy

The word “apostasy” is itself
not used in the epistle of Jude. Rather, this word is taken from the
Greek text of several corresponding Scriptures appearing elsewhere in the New
Testament, referring to “the apostasy,” seen as a departure from the faith.

This apostasy,
this departure from the faith, actually began very early in the history of
the Church, foretold by the Lord Himself in Matthew
13:33. According
to this verse, set within Scriptures having to do with the course of the present
dispensation, a woman placed leaven in three measures of meal (a
substance used in the symbolism of Scripture to depict “sin,” “deterioration,”
“corruption”). And this leaven has not only been working throughout the
dispensation but will continue to work until the whole has been leavened,
corrupted.

This leavening process
provides the reason for the existing conditions in Christendom today, very near
the end of the dispensation — the absence of the proclamation of the Word of the
Kingdom in the churches of the land. And this leavening process also provides
the reason why, when the Son of Man returns, He will not find “the faith on
the earth [‘faith’ is articular in the Greek text, showing a specific faith,
peculiarly related to the Word of the Kingdom]” (Luke 18:8).

Relative to apostasy,
Paul states in 2
Thessalonians 2:3:

Let
no one deceive you by any means;
for that Day [the Day of the Lord] will
not come unless the falling away
[the
apostasy]
comes first
. . . .

Paul, again in 1
Timothy 4:1
states:

Now
[But] the Spirit
expressly says that in latter times some will depart [apostatize]from the faith,
giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demon.

The writer of Hebrews
calls attention to this same thing in Hebrews
3:12:

Beware,
brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in
departing [apostatizing]
from the living God.

In the preceding verses, the
words “falling away,” “depart,” and “departing” are translations of either the
Greek noun apostasia or the verb aphistemi (the verb form of
apostasia), meaning “apostasy.”

The English word “apostasy”
is actually a transliterated form of the Greek word apostasia,a
compound word formed from apo and stasis. Apo means
“from,” and stasis means “to stand,” or “standing.” When used together,
forming the word apostasia,the meaning is “standing away from.”
This “standing away from” pertains to a position previously occupied and refers
more specifically (drawing from contexts where the word is used) to a
standing away from “the
faith which was once for all delivered to the saints”
(cf.1
Timothy 4:1;
Jude 3).

In the true sense of the
word, no one can stand away from something with which he has never been
affiliated. This can be illustrated by the use of the Greek word apostasion
(neuter form of apostasia) in Matthew
5:31; 19:7;
Mark 10:4. In each instance the word is translated “divorcement.” It is
one person “standing away from” another person. There could be no
“divorcement,” “standing away from,” unless a marriage had previously occurred.

In
like manner, no one could “stand away from” the faith (apostatize) unless
he had previously been associated with the faith.Believers alone
occupy a position of this nature from which they can “stand away.” Unbelievers
have never come into such a position, and, in the true sense of the word, are
not associated with the latter-day apostasy in Scripture.

Reason
for Apostasy

Christians familiar with that which Scripture teaches will have no difficulty
understanding why the present dispensation will end in apostasy. As previously
stated, the entire matter stems from an incident occurring very early in the
history of the Church. In Matthew 13:33, in the parables of the
mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, a woman took leaven and hid this leaven
“in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”

(Note also the
parable of the Sower, the parable of the wheat and tares and the
parable of the mustard seed which immediately precede the parable of the
leaven. The first three parables show different facets of the results of
the working of the leaven in the fourth parable [vv. 3-8, 18-32].)

All
seven parables in this chapter have to do with the course of Christianity
throughout the present dispensation and/or with events at the conclusion of the
dispensation after the Church has been removed from the sphere of activity, with
the last three parables having to do with events immediately preceding and
leading into the Messianic Kingdom itself. Once this woman had placed leaven in
the three measures of meal, the course of Christianity was set. The
leaven would work in the meal throughout the dispensation, climaxing its work at
the end of the dispensation with the entire three measures of meal being
completely saturated with leaven.

“Leaven”
in Scripture, as previously noted, always refers to that which is false
or corrupt.The “leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees”
was false doctrine (Matthew 16:6-12); and “leaven” associated
with Christians, in like manner, can only refer to that which is false or
corrupt in their lives (cf.Exodus 12:14-20; 1 Corinthians
5:1-8).

Leaven
in Exodus chapter twelve, because of that which it symbolized,
could occupy no place in the house of an Israelite following the issues
surrounding the death of the firstborn in Egypt; and that which leaven
symbolizes must, in like manner, never be allowed to occupy a place in
the life of a Christian today.

“Three
[the ‘three’ measures of meal into which the leaven was placed]” is the number
of Divine perfection.The number “three,” for example, is used of
the Godhead — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is used concerning the time of
Christ’s resurrection. Christ was raised from the dead on the third day, which
points to the coming third day (the third one-thousand-year period dating from
Calvary) when all of God’s firstborn Sons (“Jesus,” “Israel,” and “the Church”
following the adoption [another triad]) will be raised up, i.e., elevated to
their proper positions on and over the earth. In that day, Divine
perfection in God’s plan for the ages will be worked out to perfection in
its fullness.

God has
forbidden the placing of leaven in meal (Leviticus 6:14-17), as this
woman did in Matthew 13:33. Meal is made from crushed wheat. “Wheat” is
sown by the Sower in Matthew 13:3 (the Lord Jesus Christ [Matthew
13:37; John 12:24]) and has to do with that which is sown in the
field in Matthew 13:24 (the sons of the kingdom [Matthew 13:38]).
The three measures of meal, in the light of related Scripture, could only point
to doctrine emanating from the triune God. This doctrine, in the light of the
context, must pertain particularly to “the Sower,” “the sons of the
kingdom,” and “the word of the kingdom.”

Result
of Apostasy

The woman in Matthew 13:33, a propagator of that
which is false or corrupt, can only be associated with Satan and his false
system of doctrine. This woman inserted leaven into the three measures of meal
very early in the history of the Church, as evidenced by the rampant apostasy
which began to exist in the early Church even during the first century.

The leaven has been working for over nineteen centuries,
it is presently working, and it will continue to work until “all [KJV:
the whole]” has been leavened. Scripture places the completion of
the leavening process at the end of the present dispensation, exactly where we
are living today. The latter days in Christendom, prophesied in Scripture, will
be marked, not by great revivals or a widespread teaching of the Word of God,
but by the completion of a leavening process, resulting in apostasy.

Conditions in Christendom throughout the dispensation are set forth in the seven
letters to the seven Churches in Revelation chapters two and
three. These are seven epistles to seven churches existing in the first
century during John’s day, which portray the history of the Church throughout
the dispensation. The leaven placed in the three measures of meal was already
at work in these churches; and one church, the Laodicean Church (3:14-21),
had, even before the end of the first century, become completely corrupted
by the leaven. This church, the seventh and last of the named churches, depicts
the final form of Christendom at the end of the dispensation after the leaven
has permeated all of the meal into which it had previously been placed.

In this
respect, the epistle to the Laodiceans corresponds to the epistle of Jude.
As in 2 Timothy and 2 Peter, the apostasy had already set in during the opening
several decades of the dispensation; but conditions in both epistles portray
Christianity more particularly at the end of the dispensation (when the leaven
will be doing its most damaging, end-time work), immediately before the removal
of the Church and the beginning of the Tribulation (Revelation 4:1ff;
6:1ff).

Several
things distinguish the Laodicean church from the others:

a)Nothing
good was recorded about this church.

b)Only a
form of godliness remained within this church (vv. 15, 16; cf.
2 Timothy 3:5).

c)
Materialism had permeated this church to such an extent that it was spiritually
destitute (vv. 17, 18).

d)Christ
stood on the outside, not within (v. 20).

To some
individuals it is inconceivable that Christians can apostatize from the faith
to the extent that they become as the Laodiceans — “wretched,
miserable, poor, blind, and naked.” But this is
exactly the biblical picture of the Church in the latter days, after the leaven
has been at work for almost two millennia.

The
“lukewarmness” of the Laodicean church in John’s day fostered the working of the
leaven (v. 16), for leaven works more rapidly in a place where the
temperature is not too hot or too cold. And the “lukewarmness” of the Laodicean
church of today (where the proclamation of the Word of the Kingdom is all but
absent) is allowing the leaven to do its most rapid and damaging work of the
entire dispensation.

Because
of this, apostasy is not only presently abounding but it will increasingly
continue to abound on every hand as the Church moves even closer to the end of
the present dispensation; and conditions wrought by the leaven within these
lukewarm confines, will continue to rapidly deteriorate the mass until “fire”
stops the working of the leaven after the dispensation has run its course (cf.
1 Corinthians 3:11-15).

The
message to each church throughout Revelation chapters two and
three concerns conditions existing among Christians in these churches.
Then, at the conclusion of each message is an overcomer’s promise to Christians
within these churches, even to Christians in the most corrupt church of all, the
Laodicean church: “To him who overcomes . . . .” (2:7, 11,
17, 26-28; 3:5, 12, 21).

Overcomers’ promises of this nature can only be for Christians alone, for only
Christians are in a position to overcome and be recipients of the things
promised in these two chapters — things which, in their entirety, are
millennial in their scope of fulfillment.

(For additional
information on the seven parables in Matthew 13 and the epistles to the
seven churches in Revelation 2, 3, refer to the author’s books,
Judgment Seat of Christ and Mysteries of the Kingdom.)

Apostasy
and the Mysteries

Holding
the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience
. . .

And
without controversy great is the mystery of godliness
. . .

Now
[But] the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart
[apostatize] from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and
doctrines of demons,

speaking
lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron.

(1
Timothy 3:9, 16a; 4:1, 2)

1)“the mysteries of God” (1 Corinthians 4:1)

Two
mysteries are mentioned in 1 Timothy (3:9, 16), and both
appear immediately before the reference to apostasy in the latter days (4:1,
2). A “mystery”refers to a truth previously seen in the Old
Testament but not fully opened up and revealed, and teachings within all
mysteries in the New Testament move toward the same end (an end, in reality,
toward which all Scripture moves) — the termination of this dispensation and the
ushering in of a new dispensation. The “mystery of God” will be brought
to completion immediately prior to the Messianic Era (Revelation 10:7);
and all revealed mysteries, within their framework of completion, move toward
this same point in time.

Mysteries in the New Testament begin with the “mysteries of the kingdom of
the heavens” in Matthew chapter thirteen. These mysteries
(seen in seven connected parables) provide a chronological sequence of events
during and following the present dispensation, which will be culminated at the
beginning of the Messianic Era.

Teachings within these mysteries have to do centrally with the present work of
the Spirit among Christians (present dispensation) and the Son’s future work on
behalf of Christians (during the Tribulation, during the last seven years of the
preceding dispensation). And the counter-work of Satan has to do with the “doctrines
of demons,” associated with the “mystery of iniquity,” as he seeks to
subvert the work of God.

The
mystery dealt with more than any other in the New Testament was revealed to the
apostle Paul by Christ Himself via “revelation [personal appearance]” and
is called in Scripture simply “the mystery” or “the mystery of Christ”
(Romans 16:25; Ephesians 3:3, 4, 9; Colossians
1:26, 27; 4:3). This mystery is defined by Paul as “Christ
in you [lit., ‘Christ (the One who will rule and reign) being proclaimed
among you’], the hope of glory”(Colossians 1:27), pointing
to that future day when “Christ who is our life appears,” and Christians
will “appear with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:4).

This
mystery has to do with the fact that believing Jews and believing Gentiles,
forming the “one new man” in Christ,will, after being approved at
the judgment seat of Christ, be the recipients of heavenly promises and
blessings as joint-heirs with Christ in His kingdom (Ephesians 3:6; cf.1 Corinthians 9:24-27; James 1:12; 1 Peter 1:7-9).
This mystery has for its end the realization of the Christians’
present hope.

Another
mystery is that of Israel’s present blindness, awaiting “the
fullness of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:25). This mystery, as the
others, has to do with events during the present time that will be completed
immediately preceding the coming kingdom. The purpose for Israel’s blindness is
to allow for “the fullness of the Gentiles,” and the purpose for “the
fullness of the Gentiles” is that God may, in the coming dispensation, have
“a people for His name [a people separate from Israel — namely, the Son’s
wife, who will rule as consort queen with Him].”

After “the
fullness of the Gentiles has come in,” Israel’s blindness will be lifted (Romans
11:26). God will then have a people for His name here on earth (Israel,following the nation’s repentance, conversion, and restoration) and a people
for His name in the heavens (the Church,following this new
nation’s removal from the earth, adoption, and establishment in heavenly
places).

Another
mystery concerns the resurrection of the dead and the translation of the living
“in Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:51-58; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
This mystery has to do with the removal of the saints (body, soul, and spirit)
from the earthly sphere to a heavenly sphere, with a view to the coming reign of
Christ from the heavens.

Certain
things concerning the resurrection of the dead, the translation of the living,
and saints occupying heavenly places were revealed during Old Testament days (Genesis
5:24; 2 Kings 2:11; Job 19:25-27; Ezekiel 37:12-14,
23-25; Daniel 7:25-27). But that which was not fully opened up to
saints of preceding generations, “the mystery,” focuses on a people
separate from Israel, comprised of those “in Christ,” who are to be
associated with a separate resurrection, experience translation, and occupy
heavenly places.

Other mysteries, such as those in 1 Timothy 3:9,
16, have to do with the present activities of the saints, with a view
particularly to events during the coming millennial day. The “mystery of the
faith” (v. 9) and the” mystery of godliness” (v. 16)
have to do with the present faithfulness on the part of Christians, with a view
to their receiving the “end [‘goal’]” of faith, the salvation
of their souls (1 Peter 1:9; cf.Hebrews 10:38, 39;
11:1ff).

The word
translated “godliness [‘mystery of godliness’]” in the Greek text is
eusebeia,which is a term used of men alone, not of God. This word
refers to Christians exercising “piety,” “godliness,” “reverence”
in their lives.

Both the“mystery of the faith” and the “mystery of godliness,” as they
relate to the salvation of the souls of those “in Christ,” were seen in
the types dealing with the subject, though not fully opened up and revealed in
the Old Testament.

In this
respect, these types could not be properly understood apart from the antitypes.
The antitypes would unlock the types, and the types would then shed a world of
light on the antitypes. (cf.1 Peter 1:10-12). And, because later
revelation was required to open up and explain this material in the Old
Testament, these are termed “mysteries” in the New Testament.

2)“the mystery of lawlessness [KJV: iniquity]”(2
Thessalonians 2:7)

To
counter the work of God within His revealed mysteries, Satan, in connection with
his activities among Christians, has what Scripture calls, “the mystery of
lawlessness” (2 Thessalonians 2:7, 9, 10). In
Revelation 2:24, “the depths of Satan,” as opposed to “the deep
things of God” in 1 Corinthians 2:10, is mentioned as well. And the
construction of the Greek text in both Scriptures is identical.

The deep
things of God
reveal the things that God would have His people know; and we’re told that “the
doctrines of demons” emanate from the deep things of Satan, as Satan
seeks to mislead God’s people (1 Timothy 4:1ff).

Thus,
God has His “deep things,” associated with His “mysteries” (cf.1 Corinthians 2:7); and Satan, the great counterfeiter, has his “deep
things,” associated with “the mystery of lawlessness.”

Satan’s
great objective today, within the scope of “the mystery of lawlessness,”
is to counter teachings (through false doctrine) within “the mysteries of God.”
Note how teachings concerning “the mystery of the faith” in 1 Timothy
3:9 are countered through “the doctrines of demons” in 1 Timothy
4:2. The “mystery of the faith” is to be held with “a pure
conscience”; and in 1 Timothy 4:2, out of “lies in hypocrisies and
lying words,” demons, through their doctrines, “sear one’s conscience” (literal
thought from the Greek text).

Conscience has to
do with “spiritual awareness.” The word was used earlier in first Timothy
concerning the spiritual warfare and faithfulness as they relate to “the
faith” (1:19, 20 [the second use of “faith” in v. 19
is articular in the Greek text]). The doctrine of demons is designed
to scar one’s spiritual awareness, adversely affecting one’s
faithful, godly walk in the present world.

Satan,
above everything else, does not want “the mysteries” proclaimed. These “mysteries”
all pertain to some facet of the “word of the kingdom,” which speaks of
that future day when Satan and His angels will be put down, with Christ and His
co-heirs then moving in and taking the kingdom, i.e., moving in and taking over
the government of the earth.

Christ has already shown Himself fully qualified to replace
Satan as the Ruler over this earth, and Satan can do nothing about Christ and
His present status. However, Christians are presently in the process of
qualifying (or being disqualified) to replace the fallen angels ruling under
Satan; and if Satan could prevent this from happening, he could prevent Christ
from taking the kingdom, for Christ would have insufficient, qualified personnel
to occupy the necessary positions of power and authority in the kingdom. Thus,
in one respect, Satan’s present activity is directed against Christians toward
this end.

The
entire present dispensation is an interval during which God is taking out of the
Gentiles “a people for His name.” And those whom God is removing from
the Gentiles are the ones who are being offered positions with Christ in the
coming kingdom. These are the ones who will replace the incumbent rulers.
That’s what “the mysteries of God” are about; and that is also what “the
mystery of lawlessness,” in a counter respect, is about.

The
great apostasy in the Church during the latter days, brought into
existence through the “leaven” placed in the three measures of meal and
associated with the “doctrines of demons,” is being accomplished through
one central means: taking the truth of the Word of God and twisting,
perverting, this truth (1 Timothy 4:1, 2). And this is
being done with one central goal in view: the destruction (the
leavening) of all sound doctrine pertaining to the coming kingdom of
Christ.

Introducing Apostasy in Jude

Jude,
a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those
who are called, sanctified [loved] by God the Father, and
preserved in Jesus Christ:

Mercy,
peace, and love be multiplied to you. (Jude 1, 2)

1)“Jude”

Jude
begins his epistle with his own name, which is literally “Judas” in the Greek
text. The name “Judas” is derived from the Greek form of the Hebrew name for
“Judah” (cf.Matthew 1:2, KJV). This was a common name in Israel
during the days when our Lord was upon the earth, but this name, understandably,
is seldom used today. Through the actions of another person named “Judas”
(Judas Iscariot), the name has become a synonym for traitor or
apostate.

Judas
Iscariot, numbered among the twelve, betrayed the Lord for thirty pieces of
silver. Judas was appointed to the apostolate by the Lord (Matthew 10:1-4),
and from this position he “by transgression fell [‘turned aside,’ ‘fell
away’]” (Acts 1:25). Judas “stood away from” the other eleven.
Insofar as the apostolate and the message being proclaimed were concerned, Judas
became an apostate.

The fact
that the epistle of Jude was written by an individual whose name has
become associated with traitorous actions (apostasy) is no mere coincidence.
Nor is it coincidental that his name is the very first word that appears in the
epistle. The epistle of Jude, by the very name of the writer itself,
begins with the mark of apostasy.

Jude was
the brother of James (v. 1), apparently the same as the writer of the
epistle of James and a half-brother of the Lord (Galatians 1:19).
In this respect, the writer of the epistle of Jude would be the same Jude
(“Judas,” “Juda”) mentioned in Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3, one of
four half-brothers of Jesus (cf.Psalm 69:7, 8). None of
the half-brothers of Jesus were numbered among the twelve apostles, but two (if
this is the same Jude from Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3) were later
singled out by the Lord to write New Testament epistles.

James,
in his epistle, deals specifically with the great doctrine of the salvation
of the soul;and Jude, in his epistle, also deals with this same
doctrine, but from a different perspective — from the perspective of apostasy
that will engulf the Church in the latter days (the same as Peter presented
in his second epistle), producing a dark-age effect upon all correct Scriptural
teaching pertaining to the salvation of the soul.

The fact
that the writer of the epistle of Jude was apparently a family member of the
Lord is itself, as the name “Judas,” not without significance. The latter-day
apostasy, of which Jude writes, will be entered into by family members of the
Lord — those within the family of God, the children of God, the saved. Thus,
the name “Jude [‘Judas’]” and the apparent relationship of Jude to the Lord set
the tone, at the very beginning, for the entire epistle.

2)“Sanctified…Preserved…Called”

Jude
directs his epistle to “to those who are called, sanctified
[loved] by God the Father, and preserved in Christ Jesus” (v. 1).
Most of the better Greek manuscripts have the word for “love” rather than the
word for “sanctify” in this verse, and this is the translation which one will
find in versions such as the ASV, NASB, NIV, et al.

The word
for “love” is in the perfect tense in the Greek text, indicating action
completed in past time, with present, continuing results (results based on the
past, completed action). By and through a completed act, the love of God
has been manifested (past). God manifested His love at Calvary; and the perfect
tense shows that the manifestation of this love, based on the Son’s past,
completed work, continues uninterrupted. God is the One who loves, and man is
the object of His love. God’s love is an active, continuing, ever-abiding love
that exists during all present time and will continue to exist during
all future time.

The
recipients of God’s love will never be estranged from this love. Paul
asks the question in Romans 8:35:

Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or
famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

nor
height nor depth,
nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Nothing
in God’s material universe, present or future, can separate Christians from His
love. A Christian may appear in the presence of Christ naked and
ashamed at the end of this dispensation (cf.Romans 8:35;
Revelation 3:17, 18), but this, although resulting in dire
consequences, will not separate him from the love of God. Man’s unfaithfulness
can have no bearing on God’s faithfulness (2 Timothy 2:13). A Christian
can pass through any experience of life and pass out of life into death without
effecting a change in the nature of God’s love toward that individual
personally. God does not change, and His love toward His creature does not
change. Based on a past, completed work, this love is a present reality that
will endure forever.

The word
“preserved,” also in the perfect tense, could be better translated,
“kept.” Christians are “kept in Christ Jesus.” This is in association with our
past salvation experience and its present, continuing results. The word “kept”
is unique insofar as introductory remarks in New Testament epistles are
concerned. Paul used words such as “faithful,” “beloved,” and “called,” but
Jude alone used the word “kept.”

A
similar word appears in 1 Peter 1:5 (also translated “kept” in the
English text, but from a Greek word having a slightly different meaning):

who are
kept
[i.e.,guarded; lit., “who are being kept under guard” (passive
participle)] by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be
revealed in the last time.

Studying
Jude in the light of this verse, it is not difficult to understand why
the guarding, keeping power of God will be sorely needed by Christians in
the latter days. Confronted with apostasy on every hand, Christians must
be guarded, kept by the power of God, as they, “through faith,”
keep their goal set on the “salvation [salvation of the soul] ready to
be revealed in the last time.”

Not only
were the Christians to whom Jude wrote “loved” and “kept,” but
they were also “called.” The “called” were the saved. They had been saved for a purpose, and their calling had to do with that
purpose.

. . .
God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the
Spirit and belief in the truth,

to which
He called you by our gospel [not the good news concerning the grace of God but
the good news concerning the coming glory of Christ], for the obtaining of
the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 2:13b, 14)

Other
Scriptures show that an individual must be “called out” of the “called”
(cf.Matthew 22:14) in order to be a partaker of “the glory of
our Lord Jesus Christ.” The message in Jude is to the “called,”
with a view to their being “called out” and realizing the hope of
their calling, which is associated with the glory to be revealed.

3)“Mercy . . . Peace . . . Love”

Jude
concludes his introductory remarks with, “Mercy, peace, andlove, be multiplied to you.” A similar Divine order beginning every
Pauline epistle, with the exception of three, is “Grace toyou,
andpeace . . . .” “Grace” must always stand first,
for, apart from God’s grace, all is meaningless and vain. When
God deals with man in grace He considers neither man’s merits nor
demerits. Grace is that which God is able to do completely apart from human
intervention; and such dealings must always precede the manifestation of His
mercy, peace, and love.

The fact
that “mercy” is used in the salutations of 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy,
and Titus possibly provides the reason for its usage in Jude 2.
First and Second Timothy are epistles which also, to some extent,
deal with apostasy (e.g., 1 Timothy 4:1ff; 2 Timothy 3:1ff); and
Titus deals specifically with the “blessed hope” set before
Christians (1:2; 2:13; 3:7), which has to do with life
(salvation of the soul) in the coming age (cf.Jude 21). Mercy
is “Divine compassion,” “Divine pity,” which presupposes helplessness and
need. God is “rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2:4), and Christians are
to “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and
find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Helplessness and
need in the lives of Christians will be manifested as never before as
Christians move deeper into the present, ever-increasing apostasy. And mercy
(Divine help), peace (peace of God), and love (love of God)
must be multiplied to see Christians safely through the dark days produced by
this apostasy.